The great German pianist,
Wilhelm Backhaus (1884–1969), made his first concert tour at
the age of sixteen. He toured widely throughout his life,
making his U.S. debut in 1912 (his final concert there took place
in 1962 when he was 78!). Backhaus was well known for his
interpretations and recordings of Beethoven, Mozart and Brahms and
was also much admired as a chamber musician. His 1909
abridged recording of the Grieg Concerto was not only the first
recording of that work, but the first time any concerto had ever
been recorded. Apart from this, he was also the first pianist to
record the Chopin

Études in 1928. He
became a Swiss citizen in 1930 and reached the age of 85. The Times
praised Backhaus in its 1969 obituary for having upheld the
classical German music tradition of the Leipzig
Conservatory.

These recordings have never
been issued before on CD, and are in excellent sound for the
period. This 1959 concert gives us a rare experience of hearing
Backhaus caught ‘live’ in the Beethovenhalle in Bonn in
a typical programme of Schubert and Beethoven.

The CD contains a great
performance of Beethoven’s monumental
‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata. According to the pianist and
Beethoven specialist Stephen Kovacevich, Backhaus was the only
pianist to have understood the work. The booklet notes have
been written by the distinguished musicologist and writer Bernard
Jacobson, who draws comparisons through Backhaus’s playing of
the Schubert Impromptu in B flat major and Beethoven’s
earlier sonata op. 10 no. 2 with his interpretation of the
‘Hammerklavier’.